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kevlo86

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I typically like to provide highlights but the changes are so numerous and so widespread, I’d be repeating the entire table.

A lot of bus routes ending earlier on weekends, and off-peak headways are going up on many routes.

A few peak-hour/express routes have had trips added, plus a few additional departures on other routes here and there.

But overall, it’s bad news. We can now concretely see what a service reduction of 88,000 hours looks like. (All this to save each Calgarian less than $7, by the way, while ridership is INCREASING.)

p.s.: Schedules for September 2 and beyond aren’t online yet.

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32 minutes ago, yvarushin said:

I feel so bad for the people getting their routes cut after 10pm...

We can only hope those routes were chosen because they had truly abysmal ridership numbers at those hours. I mean, we've all seen feeder routes with chronically empty buses during the quietest parts of weekend off-peak hours …

But like I said, there are a few improvements here and there, all of them during peak hours. With hope, those improvements draw in new riders, which boosts ridership, leading to a bit more revenue to allow for some services to eventually be restored.

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Fortunately for me, none of my regular routes got hit. However, it's definitely gonna suck for people that actively use transit on weekends, particularly those working late shifts.

It's strange that they posted the changes without enabling the new schedules; it would be nice to take a deeper look at some of these changes.

I still think they had an opportunity to optimize a lot of weekday trips rather than go straight for the weekend cuts. I've had a chance to take a few off-peak weekday trips for the past two weeks and there's definitely times where they could easily cut certain trips. Of course, summer ridership isn't indicative of regular ridership during the school year, but there's definitely routes that have a bit too much service at certain times of day.

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2 hours ago, yvarushin said:

I can only imagine how many more shuttle runs we'll see.

If I'm reading the collective agreement properly, there is a limit on shuttle conversions except by agreement of both parties. (It's all about interpretation …)

https://www.atu583.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ATU-583-2014-2018-Collective-Agreement.pdf

Copied and pasted from Page 82:

Quote

Community Shuttle services may be incorporated where there is/are:

(a)  road network or community design constraints;

(b)  insufficient ridership to warrant regular transit service. When ridership is greater than Community Shuttle bus capacity, the service will be converted to regular bus operation.

With the exception of service described above, where existing regular transit service will be reduced, terminated or supplemented through the introduction of Community Shuttle service; conversions to Community Shuttle service shall be limited to the following:

(i)  for the 1998 calendar year, three (3) conversions plus one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) percent of total platform hours operated in the previous calendar year;

(ii)  for the 1999 calendar year and thereafter, three (3) conversions (maximum 7,400 hours) plus one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) of total platform hours operated in the previous calendar year.

The City shall provide the Union with total platform hours operated in the previous calendar year.

Community Shuttle service in excess of that described above will be implemented by mutual agreement of the parties. Management reserves the right to implement and delete Community Shuttle services.

 

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23 hours ago, dre said:

For city of 1.3 million plus they should be adding service and reducing it. 10 pm end service is awful for a lot people.

For any city*

Winnipeg Transit cuts off services on many routes as early as 7pm, and especially by 10. Growing up there was hard without late service in the suburbs, but at least the base lines ran until 1:30am - both ways. And being able to walk to these routes, at least helped so i wasn't stuck across the city late at night.

Calgary Transit... lol. Unless you're in pre-1981/pre-LRT Calgary, its almost impossible to find any routes within walking distance, that could bridge the gaps in late night and weekend services.

So for me, in Auburn Bay, with SAIT and looking for SE industrial trades employment, these would be my direct setbacks:

- less frequent train service from SAIT after 8pm

- no route 24 after 10pm would remove any overnight jobs i could get in industrial/warehouse work, especially without 147 service either, so that cuts out all evening and overnight jobs for anyone without the luxury of a car...

- no 92 or 96 after 10pm would hurt going across the city (for SE-Anderson transfers) which would basically force the poorest of Calgarians to start forking out their grocery money for cabs (which is bullshit)

- no 406 service after 10pm on weekends... plus no 153 or anything either, with their latest changes... they basically just shut the bus doors on tens of thousands of Calgarians down here in the SE.

Other than that and my reservations about CT never branching off routes (1/MP) to fix problems and not completely ruin peoples lives with extremely long trips on the bus... or properly spending taxpayers money by not having empty artics line up and down Forest Lawn when they could actually just branch off one route and fill the buses to capacity (MP), shorten the other to serve a specific area instead and reduce bus bunching (1)... I dont have any other objections, but CT does realize they're hacking a limb off SE Calgary with their cuts, right...?

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1 hour ago, armorand said:

For any city*

Winnipeg Transit cuts off services on many routes as early as 7pm, and especially by 10. Growing up there was hard without late service in the suburbs, but at least the base lines ran until 1:30am - both ways. And being able to walk to these routes, at least helped so i wasn't stuck across the city late at night.

Calgary Transit... lol. Unless you're in pre-1981/pre-LRT Calgary, its almost impossible to find any routes within walking distance, that could bridge the gaps in late night and weekend services.

So for me, in Auburn Bay, with SAIT and looking for SE industrial trades employment, these would be my direct setbacks:

- less frequent train service from SAIT after 8pm

- no route 24 after 10pm would remove any overnight jobs i could get in industrial/warehouse work, especially without 147 service either, so that cuts out all evening and overnight jobs for anyone without the luxury of a car...

- no 92 or 96 after 10pm would hurt going across the city (for SE-Anderson transfers) which would basically force the poorest of Calgarians to start forking out their grocery money for cabs (which is bullshit)

- no 406 service after 10pm on weekends... plus no 153 or anything either, with their latest changes... they basically just shut the bus doors on tens of thousands of Calgarians down here in the SE.

Other than that and my reservations about CT never branching off routes (1/MP) to fix problems and not completely ruin peoples lives with extremely long trips on the bus... or properly spending taxpayers money by not having empty artics line up and down Forest Lawn when they could actually just branch off one route and fill the buses to capacity (MP), shorten the other to serve a specific area instead and reduce bus bunching (1)... I dont have any other objections, but CT does realize they're hacking a limb off SE Calgary with their cuts, right...?

To add to ur reservations as well, theyre not thinking it straight in regards to SE in a different dimension. For example they could have saved a Route (for example late night 92 and 96 service) while wiping out service for the 149 on Saturdays (and off peak hours on weekdays). Why bother wasting so much time with a route that maybe touches less than a dozen people each day (and maybe that ONE person on saturday) when it could be better served to maintain service late at night for the 92 and 96. It’s stupid imo.

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3 hours ago, R. Meu said:

To add to ur reservations as well, theyre not thinking it straight in regards to SE in a different dimension. For example they could have saved a Route (for example late night 92 and 96 service) while wiping out service for the 149 on Saturdays (and off peak hours on weekdays). Why bother wasting so much time with a route that maybe touches less than a dozen people each day (and maybe that ONE person on saturday) when it could be better served to maintain service late at night for the 92 and 96. It’s stupid imo.

Agreed. Or at the VERY least, running a route every 60 minutes, so people AREN'T completely screwed... 

If they're so willing to pull the trigger on cuts, then why not make the system more efficient, like having direct (as in, Anderson - Douglasdale/Somerset - McKenzie/Somerset-Seton) routes, and then implementing a Southeast loop, like the old 72/73 or 37/137? That way, instead of slashing half a dozen routes and sewering tens of thousands of Calgarians, at the VERY least:

a) there would be direct routes from the trains, to the SE transit bus loops, and

b) with the implementation and existence of a SE circular route of sorts, instead of needing 12-18 separate buses for SE transit service, they will just need - a MAXIMUM - of 6 buses, late nights and weekend nights as well. One bus in between Somerset and directly to Seton every 45 minutes (that will loop around the Hospital/YMCA/Retail/etc to boost ridership), another in between Somerset and McKenzie Towne directly (every 50 minutes) and a bus in between Anderson and Douglasdale (every 45 minutes) as well.  As for the loop, one bus per way, for a 45-60 minute frequency (10pm, 11pm, 12am) with an additional bus at 12:30am that departs from Douglasdale, goes towards Seton, and also loops back to Douglasdale - to cover all employment sectors, and to provide a basic level of service to people, even if they have to walk a kilometre to the bus stop - at LEAST they will have that basic level of service.

Not to mention the implications of running this service during the daytime and saving Calgary Transit all of those man-hours while also being more efficient... why not implement it? Especially because the SE is so interconnected?

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Just remember transit had mere *weeks* to do what city hall asked of them. I’m sure with more time, the changes would have been less blunt.

I imagine (in fact, I damn well hope) the next seasonal change(s) will be used to do exactly what you suggest — to maximize use of resources and further optimize routes to restore some of the services that are about to be cut.

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The biggest problem with stopping service after a certain time of day versus a reduction in frequency is that you've completely lost those passengers. Running a bus every even 60 minutes from 30 minutes from 9pm-1am means some people will always be there to take that bus, and that they can use the bus to commute. Completely cutting off service after 9pm means those people will now find alternate ways to and from wherever, and in Calgary, that most likely means buying a car. Once they have that car, putting back the service after 9pm three months later means nothing to them, they're not coming back to transit.

Service span should always be one of the last things to cut. 

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The only thing keeping the car switch for those who cant afford it: Alberta private insurance requiring a years worth of insurance up front...

If this was Manitoba Public Insurance, i could've got myself a $600 beater and have been driving, by now. But out here, with insurance I'd be set back 2-3 grand, so I'm forced to deal with it. And so is alot of other transit riders who dont have the luxury to get a car either. They might still use the service, but only during the short-term - and once they do ever get a car, all of their kids, relatives and friends will stop taking transit altogether - so Calgary Transit, much like Winnipegs, is instituting a domino effect that will hit home for decades to come. The only difference is that Winnipegs domino effect hit the inner city back home the hardest, and THEN the suburbs - while Calgarys effect, spares the inner city and keeps core transit use alive - but guts out the suburbs, which wouldn't even be a problem if Calgary would stop approving every single suburb on its outskirts to expand, without a single new factory or anything going up nearby, to even provide the employment needed nearby to justify the suburban expansions, let alone the utilities, seevices provided and roads needed...

Long story short: CT might have some issues with cuts, but i blame the City itself for letting the suburbs expand without anything to do, to keep it in check. Which is crazy, because with Brookfield building that massive head office Downtown, you'd think that they'd be one of the first to know what a TOD is...

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1 hour ago, armorand said:

CT might have some issues with cuts, but i blame the City itself for letting the suburbs expand without anything to do, to keep it in check. 

Bingo.

4 hours ago, Blake M said:

The biggest problem with stopping service after a certain time of day versus a reduction in frequency is that you've completely lost those passengers. Running a bus every even 60 minutes from 30 minutes from 9pm-1am means some people will always be there to take that bus, and that they can use the bus to commute. […]

Service span should always be one of the last things to cut. 

I hadn’t thought of it this way.

But has it been fully established that those places that will lose bus service after 10 pm on weekends will have no nearby alternatives? I can think of a few areas where the loss of some late-night weekend bus lines will make it less handy — but not impossible — to use transit.

The places served by Route 93, for example, are mostly within a 10 minute walk of the 9, 94, 111, 453 and Blue Line, from what I can see. 

Route 104 is walking distance from the 1, 4/5, 20, MO and Red Line. 

Route 24 is covered by 36/41 in Ogden/Riverbend (with link to downtown via Red Line) and 17 in Ramsay. 

I can’t explain the southeast however, with large areas being abandoned after 10 p.m. on weekends, which is ridiculous — unless there’s some kind of alternative (line redesign?) service on the way. (Or the ridership is way worse than we’re guessing.)

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2 hours ago, downbeat said:

I can’t explain the southeast however, with large areas being abandoned after 10 p.m. on weekends, which is ridiculous — unless there’s some kind of alternative (line redesign?) service on the way. (Or the ridership is way worse than we’re guessing.)

I'm really hoping that there's something coming in... because after 10pm, there's not even the 302 down there, there's absolutely nothing except: Route 23, to McKenzie, and Route 14, to the hospital. If I were at South Pointe, my options would practically be non-existent - walk to 52nd and take a bus all the way to Marlborough, and potentially miss the last train West - or pay for a cab to Somerset ($50), or maybe to Anderson (still $50)...

It's pathetic. Especially since they used to have the 72/73 and 37/137 running for years - instead of completely sewering tens of thousands of people, why couldn't they just implement a circular route, still cut man-hours and provide at least SOME level of basic service? I grew up in Winnipeg, on the nights and days with buses running every 68 minutes, I just camped out at a local Tims, McDonalds or something. Especially in -40. Plus with Transit55 and everything, its alot more possible to just wait somewhere for 50 minutes, and then walk to the bus stop in time for service. I'd rather have to wait in a shelter in the cold for 20 minutes, then loiter around in a Tims for half an hour and KNOW that a bus is coming every 68 minutes, versus "whoops sorry, we can't afford it and we decided to not let any of you know either, so just deal with it!" and be forced to walk a few kilometers for bus service - which unlike Winnipeg, Southeast Calgary has virtually no pedestrian infrastructure going across the river (let alone proper lighting, example: pedestrian bridge section on 22x across the Bow, Fish Creek, etc), so taking a run over to Deer Run, Chapparal, Sundance or other areas for transit service isn't even an option either. 

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10 hours ago, downbeat said:

Bingo.

I hadn’t thought of it this way.

But has it been fully established that those places that will lose bus service after 10 pm on weekends will have no nearby alternatives? I can think of a few areas where the loss of some late-night weekend bus lines will make it less handy — but not impossible — to use transit.

The places served by Route 93, for example, are mostly within a 10 minute walk of the 9, 94, 111, 453 and Blue Line, from what I can see. 

Route 104 is walking distance from the 1, 4/5, 20, MO and Red Line. 

Route 24 is covered by 36/41 in Ogden/Riverbend (with link to downtown via Red Line) and 17 in Ramsay. 

I can’t explain the southeast however, with large areas being abandoned after 10 p.m. on weekends, which is ridiculous — unless there’s some kind of alternative (line redesign?) service on the way. (Or the ridership is way worse than we’re guessing.)

I'll explain why some of these cuts can actually cause more harm than you think. 

For route 93, the alternatives you named are the 9, 94, 111, and 453. The closest the 9 gets with the exception of Westbrook is 8 blocks away, and does not go west on Richmond Road. The 94 might follow or intersect at certain points, but for the most part deviates away from where the 93 is supposed to serve (ie. Richmond Hill and Signal Hill). The 111 is an okay alternative, but service ends at 9:30. The 453 comes close but doesn't serve Coach Hill and also ends at 10pm.

 

For the 104, you named the 1, 4/5, 20, MO as alternatives. The 4/5 only intersects with the 104 once, the 20 twice, and MO (as well as Lions Park and SAIT stations) might be near by to 6 Avenue on paper but geographically it doesn't work as an alternative. The 1 does work as an alternative, my only problem is that it already experiences reliability issues.

The 24 does not have have an alternative service between Inglewood and Lynnwood. The 17, 41, 147, and 302 do not run after 10pm weekends. The 36 is a fair alternative in Lynnwood and Riverbend though. 

There is no alternative service to routes 92, 96, 153, and 406, aside from routes 14 and 23, but they basically go on the outer edges of those service areas. They're not okay alternatives for most of the areas the four aforementioned routes serve, as the walks to these routes for some areas can be well over an hour. 

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I was *going* to invest into starting my own business, but since CT deems SE Calgary unworthy of transit service, i might just get a car instead. I might have to insure it outside of Alberta or through family... but compared to the alternative come winter, its probably worth it.

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1 hour ago, armorand said:

I was *going* to invest into starting my own business, but since CT deems SE Calgary unworthy of transit service, i might just get a car instead. I might have to insure it outside of Alberta or through family... but compared to the alternative come winter, its probably worth it.

Just make sure you close by 9pm weekends ?

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10 hours ago, Blake M said:

Just make sure you close by 9pm weekends ?

Welding business haha, probably out back or something, nothing TOO major.

If I was retail or a restaurant, i wouldn't even want to invest in Calgary - period. Not just due to transit though, its just too oversaturated, and too overtaxed. Theres alot of talk, of places going under and closing, let alone not being able to get anyone in the door to order themselves a $20 quesedilla or a $5 microscopic glass of Pepsi... I'd rather just test my waters in Lethbridge, Red Deer or suburnan Edmonton. If its welding jobs for straight cash, with me as the sole employee? I should be good ?

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A few things I've noticed while checking out the schedules …

  • Route 3 weekend frequency is 16 minutes for most of the day, not 15 minutes as listed in Transit's service advisory.
  • Route 8 weekday midday off-peak is still 20 minutes, not 33 minutes. Weekday evening frequencies slowly taper off from 25 minutes after dinner time to 33 minutes at the end of the night.
  • Route 67 weekend frequency adjustment is actually a slight improvement, going to 30 minutes. (Currently 32 minutes.)
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Route 3 at 16 minutes in the south isn't too bad. North though? Like Nick mentioned awhile back, bringing back a Downtown - Harvest Hills subsection wouldn't hurt.

Used to take the 3 to a job i held for a few weeks... weekend mornings, virtually no riders from Heritage to 4 St SW. Afternoon fared better though. Evenings... last time I took a 3 at night on a weekday, the artic barely had 5 passengers on it by the time it reached the Core. So they could afford to cut it in the South, but North? On weekends, a short-turn route would probably solve issues.

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6 hours ago, armorand said:

Route 3 at 16 minutes in the south isn't too bad. North though? Like Nick mentioned awhile back, bringing back a Downtown - Harvest Hills subsection wouldn't hurt.

Isn’t this the rationale for BRT routes 300 and 301? They act as a short-turn/branch service in the north to relieve pressure from the 3 and get those riders around with fewer stops. Between the 3, 300 and 301, there will still be approximately 9 or 10 buses/hour on Centre Street between downtown and 78 Ave. North in the middle of the day on weekends. (Throw in the 2 and 17 for even more local buses between downtown and the top of the bluff.)

 

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2 hours ago, downbeat said:

Or maybe everyone can be a little more open-minded and flexible, and learn/promote that the MAX lines are also assigned route numbers …

(You can’t make teletext work without the route number, for example.)

 

I think we need a bunch of us to send out the tweets ?

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